


You Thought I'd Be Naive and Tame

by angstysilver



Series: Through the Clouds I See Love Shine [3]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Underage Drinking, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-23
Updated: 2019-05-23
Packaged: 2020-03-13 04:57:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18933904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angstysilver/pseuds/angstysilver
Summary: He’d never admit it but he honest-to-God gasps because he’s found Steve and he’s...dancing.





	You Thought I'd Be Naive and Tame

**Author's Note:**

> This timestamp is set in July, 1985. 
> 
> The fic title and lyrics found within are from Aretha Franklin’s “Who Zoomin Who?” (1985).
> 
> I don’t own these characters or this song and this was written just for fun.

Now that the gray and rainy days of spring are behind them, Billy is thoroughly shocked to find that Hawkins, Indiana actually gets warmer than back home in Santa Monica during the summer months. It’s nice to know the place he’s being forced to live out his last year of high school isn’t really glacial all year long, which is what he’d come to expect during the frigid winter months. But now the days are warm and the sun doesn’t set until deep into the evenings. Billy remembers being downright giddy the day he was able to shove his coat, jacket, and hoodies to the back of his closet. 

One thing about summer in Hawkins, though; it’s fucking humid as hell. And that’s not something Billy is used to. Most days at the pool he feels like he’s going to melt into a golden tan puddle in his stand right before Karen Wheeler’s watchful eyes - his sunglasses, whistle, and red shorts the only clues as to who’s been liquified. Not that it would matter. From the way people look at him while he’s at work, he’s pretty sure most of them would just go on and sop him up with a biscuit if it really came to that. Billy doesn’t think he’ll ever adjust to this particular aspect of summer in the midwest. Some days the excess moisture in the air is downright oppressive and it leaves him feeling exhausted by the end of the day.

Today’s not that bad, though. He worked the early shift at the pool. It’s only a little past noon but he’s already roaring out of the pool’s parking lot with the rest of the day ahead of him. The windows are down and he’s speeding. Not enough to be worth the effort if he should pass any of the town’s lazy ass cops but still enough to kick up a nice breeze that ruffles his hair. He stopped bothering to style his hair once the summer really kicked into full swing. Between his excessive sweating and working at the pool, it just seemed like a huge waste of product. His curls are a little more defined and unruly now but doesn’t really mind. Despite what Neil says, he knows his hair is pretty fucking enviable. Besides, he’s pretty sure Harrington digs the new look, if the way he keeps staring at it is anything to go by. 

He pops in the first mixed tape he finds and absentmindedly bops his head to the beat of Wango Tango. He props his arm up on door to let the breeze work it’s way into the cut off sleeves of his Hawkins High Basketball tshirt. Glancing right at a stop sign, he catches a glimpse of his tattoo and can’t help but smirk. Another great thing about warmer weather in Hawkins, especially with Billy constantly shirtless at the pool, is that Neil has had to be real cautious about when and where he hauls off on Billy. He’s actually been pretty chill since school let out, probably placated by Billy’s glowing final report card. Neil was the only one surprised; Billy has always gotten good grades. But Billy didn’t bother pointing that out, he just enjoyed his father’s slightly longer fuse while it lasted. So far the only exception had been the night Billy came back with his tattoo. Neil had fucking lost it and wailed on Billy like he had during the school year, too worked up to even ask how it was that Billy managed to get a tattoo still being 17 for another few months. Billy had gladly taken that beating, even if it meant showing up at the pool the next day a little battered and bruised.

He navigates through downtown and points the Camaro towards Loch Nora. His musings shift to the first time Steve had seen the tattoo. Steve regarded him with a quirked eyebrow and had asked how, exactly, a skull was meant to smoke a cigarette. Despite the prissy attitude, Billy is pretty sure Steve thinks it’s cool. He knows for a fact Steve doesn’t know anyone else with a tattoo, so there’s that. 

Just like clockwork, thinking about the other boy makes his stomach do a ridiculous little flop. It’s been 8 months since he beat Steve unconscious and only 6 months since they were cruelly paired together for a World History paper at the beginning of the third quarter worth 80% of their grade. Billy had meant to only interact with Steve as much as was absolutely necessary to get a good grade on the project. And he knew that Steve was truly less than thrilled to be forced to deal with him on a regular basis outside of basketball. Not that Billy could blame him, after what happened - what he did. So, even now, he still isn’t sure how going to Steve’s house after practice a few days a week to work on the paper turned into hanging out together even after it was turned in. Becoming friends with Steve Harrington happened so naturally that Billy still can’t really unpack it enough to figure out how or even when it happened. They don’t spend all of their free time together; Steve’s got his brat pack and Billy’s got a title to maintain at school, which requires him to show face at parties Steve avoids these days.. But they’re closer than Billy ever thought would be possible given how things started. They don’t pour their hearts out to each other but they know things about each other without ever really talking about them. Billy knows that Steve’s parents are never at his house and he’s pretty sure the other boy is actually bothered by that. And Steve has to know by this point that Billy is never happy to be going home, though he probably doesn’t really know why. 

Spending time with Steve talking about music, sports, other kids at school, or nothing at all is a welcome reprieve from the chaos at home and in his own mind. The more time Billy spends with Steve, the less he sees him as the preppy and rich fallen king of Hawkins High that had immediately caught his eye upon his arrival. It wasn’t long into the friendship before Billy had to finally admit to himself that he’s attracted to the other boy and that it isn’t going away. He had quickly resigned himself to keeping that shit to himself. He’s lucky enough that Steve is his friend; he knows how much shit Steve gets from the kids for hanging around with him. He did his best to act normal, or whatever normal is for him, and not let the attraction show. The last thing he wants is to fuck things up. They had never really talked about relationships, though obviously Billy knows about Steve’s failed relationship with Nancy. Billy had no real reason to think that Steve would ever be interested in him as well, so he was thoroughly shocked when Steve kissed him.

It happened three weeks ago. Steve had taken the kids to the pool during Billy’s shift and asked if he wanted to hang out after he finished up. He’d worked until closing that day it was starting to get dark by the time he made it to Steve’s place. They lounged out on the patio overlooking the pool, drinking beers and smoking a joint Billy had rolled for the occasion. Conversation had lolled to a comfortable silence. Billy didn’t know what possessed him - maybe it was the beers and weed, the way the pool lights washed Steve’s skin out and made his moles stand out in contrast, or just the fact that this had been weighing heavy on Billy for longer than he cared to admit. But he made himself look Steve in the eye and finally apologize to him for acting like a maniac and pounding his face in. They’re friends now but he’d still expected Steve to react with anger, contempt, maybe even disgust. He certainly hadn’t expected Steve’s big eyes to go a little wet around the edges or for him to thank Billy with a voice thick with emotion that Billy doesn’t understand. He’d still been trying to process what to say next when Steve leaned over the side of his chair to press his lips to Billy’s before pulling away and going back to staring at the pool. Billy had been too stunned to say anything after that and neither of them has mentioned it since.

They’ve shared of a few more kisses since then, though, but only when they’re buzzed off of that night’s liquor of choice. Some of them have gotten pretty heated. Somehow, it hasn’t really changed their friendship at all. Things aren’t strained and weird the way Billy thought they would be the next time they saw each other after the first kiss. They still chill and rag on each other like nothing ever happened. But Billy knows that they’re going to have to talk about this at some point pretty soon. He’s dreading it. It’s going to be awkward as hell, sure; Billy’s not exactly the king of calmly and rationally expressing his thoughts and feelings, but that’s not it. He isn’t ready to hear Steve say they’re just having a little fun during the summer before Billy goes back to school and Steve starts working for his dad. Because that’s all it could really be for Steve, right? Billy isn’t sure he knows what he would want instead, or if he wants something more than just to fool around a little, but he knows he isn’t going to get it from Steve. Steve is good and Billy never gets to keep good things.

He tightens his hands on the steering wheel and grits his teeth. No, he’s not going down that road. Today is going to be a good fucking day, gotdamnit. Whatever’s going on with him and Steve, it isn’t going to be figured out anytime soon, especially not today with his little termites underfoot all day. Steve let the kids talk him into having a pool party, even though he’d just had one for Fourth of July. Steve won’t admit it, but Billy has a sense that Steve likes having the kids around despite how much he complains about them. Billy can’t relate. As much as he’s looking forward to spending the day with Steve, he’s not exactly thrilled to be spending so much time with the Spooky Duckling Squad.

Navigating Steve’s bougie neighborhood is like second-nature to Billy by this point. He parks just behind the Beemer as if he belongs there but it’s not like there are ever any other cars in the driveway. He knows that there is another car tucked safely away in the garage for Steve’s parents to use when they’re home, but he’s never seen it out and in use. Stepping out of the Camaro is gross. He’s stuck to the warm leather seats where his shorts have ridden up during the drive. It might not be as humid as it’s been the last few days but it’s still hot as fuck and he’s looking forward to sucking up some of Steve’s fancy central air conditioning. 

Billy is just about to knock on the front door when he realizes he can hear music coming from around the back of the house. He purses his lips and rolls his eyes. He really hopes that didn’t mean that the kids are already there. He’d been looking forward to a little alone time with Steve before the other boy put on his babysitting hat. Bracing himself for the bitchfest that would immediately follow his arrival, he decides to head around the side of the house to the backyard. The music is loud enough that no one is likely to hear him knocking anyway. 

The yard is wonderfully empty when he gets to the side gate. Although he can hear it more clearly now, he doesn’t recognize the song that’s playing, which isn’t surprising as Steve’s taste in music can leave him dubious about his crush at times. This song isn’t that bad, though, from what Billy can tell. It’s one of those upbeat pop-ish songs with the synthesizer doing most of the work in the background and he can make out a deep, throaty female vocalist over the beat.

Billy’s just reaching the sliding glass doors that lead into the den when he stops dead in his tracks. He’d never admit it but he honest-to-God gasps because he’s found Steve and he’s...dancing. 

His back is to the door and he hasn’t noticed Billy’s arrival yet. He keeps redistributing his weight from one foot to the other, causing his narrow hips to swing in the opposing direction in time with the rhythm. His long arms flow loosely along with his hips. Steve involves his entire body when he dances. Through the thin fabric of his tshirt, Billy can see the long, lean muscles of his back ripple as his torse sways along with the music. Even his head lolls from side to side, causing his hair to flop around. After all the times they’ve chilled out with alcohol and weed, Billy’s never seen Steve move this easily and smoothly. It’s fucking sexy as hell and Billy can feel himself starting to flush.

He watches as Steve raises his arms out to his sides, snapping his fingers and shimming his shoulders to what BIlly assumes is the chorus.

Who’s zoomin’ who?  
Take another look, tell me baby  
(Who's zoomin' who) who's zoomin' who?  
(Who's zoomin' who?) now the fish jumped off the hook  
Didn't I baby (who's zoomin' who?)

The chorus repeats and now Steve’s doing a little marching step, pumping his arms like a power walker and bopping his head as he slowly turns in place. Steve falters a little when he notices Billy. His arms fall to his sides and shapely lips part in surprise. Billy wants to raise a mocking eyebrow or give one of his cackling laughs, or, at the very least, a bemused grin; anything to let the other boy know that he’s going to be teased mercilessly for this. But Billy can’t do any of those things because he’s been fucking enthralled for the last minute and a half. He’s sure he must look like an idiot or a weirdo creeper just standing there at Steve’s back door staring at him with his jaw on the damn ground. But he can’t seem to get his shit together. 

Billy expects Steve to maybe blush and hurry to turn the music off or something. Probably Billy should stop trying to predict Steve’s actions, because instead, Steve cocks his head to the side with a small smile and saunters over to the glass door. Even in his stunned state, Billy notices that Steve’s still moving to the beat of the music. 

Sliding the door open, Steve gives him a bright smile. “Hey, come on in.” He doesn’t look or sound creeped out by Billy watching him, which is something.

“Uh, okay,” he responds and will have the rest of his life to be embarrassed by how breathy his voice is. Now isn’t the time to worry about it though, not when Steve is already walking deeper into the room and gesturing for him to have a seat on one of the plaid sofas in the room, all the while still moving to the music.

Billy takes jerking steps over to the couch and stiffly sits down, suddenly feeling like his body is too big for his skin. He isn’t sure where the hell this is about to go but he’s pretty sure his ticket has been punched and he’s all the way onboard for it. Steve’s facing him now and he’s gone back to the original swaying motion. It’s completely different from this angle, though, where he can seen Steve’s heavy-lidded eyes completely zeroed in on him. The chorus comes around again and this time Steve smooths his hands along his torso, drawing Billy’s gaze along as he rumples his tshirt. He’s wearing the same basketball shirt as Billy, but Steve’s is so tight and the material worn thin, like it might be from is freshman or sophomore year. 

Billy licks his lips and shifts on the couch. He’s getting hard and his shorts aren’t going to do anything to hide the fact. With the way Steve’s looking at him, he’s not sure he needs to. He does a little circle, holding eye contact with Billy with a side-eyed glance over his shoulder. Billy covers up a groan by clearing his throat. Steve is sashaying over to him just as the singer croons out the hook.

You think you're smooth and you can pick and choose  
When the time is right  
Just look behind, you'll be surprised to find  
Gonna make you mine tonight, oh

Steve is now tantalizingly close to the V of Billy’s thighs and Billy’s damn near panting. But it’s not until Steve starts to roll his entire body right in Billy’s face that he decides enough is e-fucking-nough. He had to have been expecting it at some point, but Steve still lets out a delicious gasp when Billy grabs him around the waist and yanks him onto his lap. Steve gets with the program quickly enough, straddling Billy’s hips and threading his arms around his neck. Billy gets his hands up high on Steve’s thighs where his little blue shorts stop and squeezes as he presses their mouths together.

Steve buries his hands in the curls at the back of Billy’s head and kisses him back enthusiastically. It’s nothing like the other times they’ve kissed. There’s no alcohol on Steve’s breath when Billy slips his tongue inside. Which, in the far back corner of his mind, makes him wonder where in the fuck that lap dance came from. Instead, Steve tastes like the Coke he’d probably beeen drinking before Billy got there and he chases the flavor as he delves deeper. Steve’s hips shift, shocking a hiss out of Billy and moaning when Billy tightens his grip on the flesh of his thighs. 

Billy’s head is swimming when they break apart for Steve to start leaving wet kisses along his jawline. He leans his head back against the couch and tries to calm his breathing. Steve feels amazing against him and Billy could fucking get used to this. But it’s that thought that gives him pause. Fucking shit. He can’t believe he’s about to do what he’s about to do.

“Steve,” he grunts out. He grips the other boy’s shoulders to hold him back a little and create what little space he can with Steve still sitting in his lap.

Steve looks a little dazed for a moment and Billy valiantly fights back a self-satisfied smirk. “What’s wrong?” Steve asks with a small frown.

“Maybe we should, uh, slow down a little?” Billy wants to smack himself in the face. He’s been around the block more than a few times and has never once suggested such a thing before. Why he would betray himself and say something like that now with the guy he’s been crushing on for months is completely beyond his ability to comprehend.

“Oh,” Steve says and he looks just as lost as Billy feels in that moment. “Okay.” He slowly slides off of Billy’s lap until he’s sitting beside Billy on the couch, making sure there’s enough space between them so they aren’t touching anymore. That makes Billy feel like even more of an idiot. Leaning over the arm of the couch, Steve switches off the boombox and the quiet that blankets them is a little unnerving. They sit in silence for a few moments, both of them trying to ignore the fact that they’re still hard.

Eventually Steve lightly touches Billy’s knee and Billy looks at him. “Are you okay?” He asks with his eyes all sincere and concerned.

Billy chokes out a laugh because probably only Steve could pull that look off while horny. “Yeah, I’m just,” he blows out a huge breath. Okay, here it goes. Might as well get this out in the open now. It’s like ripping off a bandaid. “What are we doin’ here, Steve?” His voice is surprisingly steady when he asks, fucking A.

Steve’s shoulders slump and he shifts his eyes down to the carpet between his feet. Billy can see him chewing on his bottom lip and can’t believe this is the same guy who was just prancing around the room like a little minx. “I mean, we were kissing, I guess.” He looks back up at Billy with a grimace. “Uh, did you - did you not wanna do that?”

Somehow, Billy manages not to say ‘duh, I grabbed you,’ but it’s a pretty close call. And, really, this is his out being handed to him on a silver platter. He could laugh it off and insist that he doesn’t mind kissing Steve but he absolutely wants to know where Steve learned all those dance moves. They could avoid this uncomfortable conversation and just keep doing what they’re doing. Billy could stop trying to figure out where this thing with them is going and just enjoy the limited time he has with Steve while he has him. And honestly, what right does Billy have to be asking Steve for clarification? He’s lucky Steve is even giving him the time of day after everything he’s done. What would Steve possibly want with him other than a quick good time? Billy is an asshole. He knows that, Neil knows, Max and the other ducklings know and remind Steve all the time. Steve can’t ignore it forever. Eventually, he’s going to get tired of clowning around with a screw up and go looking for something sweet like he had with Wheeler. It’s only a matter of time. Does Billy really want to waste time trying to dig and define this thing or does he want to just take what Steve is offering him and be fucking grateful, for once?

“Billy?” Steve’s giving him that concerned look again.

“I fucking like you, Steve,” Billy blurts out, surprising himself and Steve. Based on the way Steve slightly recoils away from him, he guesses he came across a little more aggressive than he intended. But shit, he hadn’t intended to say anything like that to begin with.

Steve wets his lips and Billy tracks the motion. “I like you too, Billy,” he murmurs. 

Billy could get lost in that voice. He could easily just lean over and reclaim Steve’s lips and just let this thing fucking rest. Or, he could...“Okay. So are we just two guys who like each other having a good time, or…?” He doesn’t exactly know how to finish that question and he’s hoping that he really doesn’t have to.

“I mean, I think I’d like to explore whatever comes after the or, but…” He trails off and sighs. “Apparently, I’m pretty shitty at...relationships.” He says the last word delicately, even wincing. Billy can’t tell if it’s because he’s still broken up about Wheeler or if he thinks saying the ‘R word’ is going to send Billy running for the hills. Billy isn’t sure that it won’t. “I know I kissed you first and I kinda keep doin’ it. But I really don’t wanna mess this up. Our friendship, you know?” 

Billy nods. He gets it; he doesn’t want to mess up their friendship either. Steve’s friendship means a lot to him, being that he’s the only one he has in this shithole. Tommy and the rest of the duds at school certainly don’t count. And it’s rare for Billy to be able to get ahold of his crew from back home. Life moves on pretty quickly in Cali, and that’s not even considering the time difference and cost of long-distance calls. So yeah, given a choice between staying just friends with Steve and risking everything to hook up a few times, Billy will choose the friendship. And probably rub himself raw jerking off to the memories of them making out. But Billy can’t spend too much time getting caught up in how depressing that would be because Steve’s talking again.

“But I kinda feel like now that I know what it’s like to kiss you, I don’t know if I can go back to just being friends.” Billy whips his head around look at Steve and the other boy blushes. “Is that dumb?” He asks.

Fuck no, Billy thinks. “Fuck no,” he says decisively. “Me too.”

Steve gives him that soft smile he sometimes does. The one that Billy can never figure out what he’s done to cause but would do anything to keep around. His body is tilting towards Steve and Steve is drifting closer to him like they’re magnetized or something. Their lips come together and it’s probably the sweetest, gentlest kiss Billy has ever experienced in his life. His hand comes up to rest against the side of his neck, his thumb caressing the little brown flat moles that he knows dot Steve’s jawline. Shit, Steve is turning him into a huge gooey softy. It would be disgusting and embarrassing if he didn’t feel so damn good. Steve’s just fisting his hand into Billy’s shirt when a loud knock on the glass door has them both jumping apart like startled cats.

Billy leans over Steve to find all six members of the Spooky Duckling Squad huddled at the door with their faces pressed against the glass, staring at them with a mixture of shock, interest, and disdain. Okay, the last one is probably just for him but, still. Steve’s just staring right back at them blushing deep all the way up to his hairline.

“Steve!” The taller one with the dark hair that Billy knows is the younger Wheeler is the first one to break the stare off by speaking. “Can you stop making out with your psycho boyfriend long enough for us to have the pool party you promised?”

The curly-haired one with the weird teeth, Steve’s favorite, smacks little Wheeler in the arm. “Mike, hey, not cool! Steve never said they were boyfriends. If they haven’t labeled their relationship then we shouldn’t make assumptions.”

Lucas, whose name Billy obviously remembers, for obvious reasons rolls his eyes. “Oh my God, Dustin. So not the point!”

And just like that, the three of them are bickering from the other side of the glass door, trying to draw the other three kids into it. Billy feels like he should probably be a little insulted at being called a psycho, a little freaked out at being called Steve’s boyfriend, a lot mortified at being caught kissing, and super fucking unsettled by the nasty looks Max keeps shooting him. But he doesn’t have time to focus on any one of those things because Steve is launching himself off the couch and over to the door to slide it open.

“Oh my God, will you shithead shut up!” He screams over their arguing, hands on his hips. He starts pointing and barking out orders. “Dustin and Will, go to the kitchen and bring out the snack trays on the counter. Lucas and Mike, you go to the garage and bring out all the pools games and shit you all left here last time. And Max, make sure El helps you with your sunscreen. I don’t need you turning into a lobster again on my watch.” And just like that, the chaos wanes down to a controlled simmer as the ducklings scamper off to complete their tasks. But Max still tosses one last scathing look at him over her shoulder as the other girl drags her away.

Billy’s kind of impressed; somehow, he had forgotten that he had a huge crush on Mom of the Year. Steve turns back to face him with a sheepish smile. 

“Sorry about that. They’re a fucking handful but they’re good kids.”

Billy shrugs. He doesn’t really care. “So you keep telling me.” He steps closer until he can reach out and settle his hands on Steve’s hips. He lets his voice drop into the gravely rumble that he likes to think of as one of his secret weapons. “Maybe we should plan our own private pool party, yeah? No little kiddies allowed.”

Steve smirks at him. He opens his mouth reply just as there’s a big crash from the deeper inside the house.

“Uh, Steve?” Dustin’s voice calls out from the same direction as the crash. “Don’t get too worried, me and Will are just fine. But, well, just how connected were you to that vase out in the hallway?”

Steve jolts out of his arms and is stalking off out of the room before Billy even realizes what’s happening. “Damnit, Dustin!” He can hear Steve shouting. “What the fuck happened!”

Billy flops back on the couch with a huff. He can’t hear Dustin’s explanation but he can hear Steve screaming his head off. Okay, so maybe not Mom of the Year, he muses to himself. He can’t seem to wipe the goofy grin off his face. He knows he should try because if one of the ducklings seems him smiling to himself they really are going to think he’s psycho. But he can’t help it. Not even the fact that he just got majorly cockblocked and has to deal with a bunch of baby ducks pecking at his ankles for the rest of the day is penetrating his euphoria at the moment. He and Steve haven’t figured everything out, but that’s okay. There are three facts he’s learned today that he plans to deeply explore in the very near future.

Steve Harrington likes kissing him, even sober.

Steve Harrington likes him and wants to be more than friends. 

Steve Harrington could have a very successful career as an exotic dancer.

 

end.

**Author's Note:**

> Phew, I had an idea for something short and fun and this just took on a mind of its own.
> 
> I really hope you enjoyed!
> 
> Installment-specific notes:
> 
> I wrote this before Season 3 knowing I’m probably going to regret doing that once I’ve watched it. To minimize anxiety for my near-future self, I’ve only included a few smaller details that I picked up from the trailer, mainly that Billy’s a lifeguard, he now has a tattoo, and his summer curls are fucking amazing. I’m ignoring Scoops Ahoy for now because reasons.
> 
> I spent an embarrassing amount of time looking for just the right song for Steve to show off his skills. If you haven’t listened to "Who’s Zoomin Who?" yet, I highly recommend it.
> 
> Series/verse-specific note:
> 
> Lastly, you may have noticed by this point that homophobia really isn’t a thing in this verse. And I’m going to keep it like that. I know it isn’t realistic for that time or this (sadly), but I’m writing in a world where it’s completely normal for Steve to pop out Billy’s baby, so.


End file.
